After the ship it’s a road trip; before it, a deadline
After the cruise, the ship hands you a free morning in Miami, and a downtown desk’s shuttle can meet you at the pier. Take the car south and decide on the way how far you’ll go. Before the cruise works too, as long as your last night is back on the mainland — there’s one road out of the Keys, and the ship won’t wait for it.
After the cruise
- Ships clear in the morning, so the day is yours
- The downtown cruise desks open at 7 or 8 AM, and their shuttle meets you at the pier
- The only deadline is your flight home
- Key West airport is there if you’d rather fly home from it
- A downtown desk carries no airport charges
Before the cruise
- The last night has to be on the mainland: one road, no shortcut
- The desks run their last pier shuttle at 1:30 PM, so the drive back has to finish early
- Hand the car back downtown the day before, or at MIA
- Check your cruise line’s check-in window first
- Weather can close the road, so build in slack
Both orders work — only one of them has a ship waiting at the end of the drive.
The pier pickup, step by step: renting after a PortMiami cruise, or the Port Everglades version if you’re sailing from Fort Lauderdale.
113 miles of Overseas Highway, Key by Key
| Stop | Mile markers | Miles from Miami (the Keys’ count) | From PortMiami (our estimate) | From Port Everglades (our estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key Largo | 108–90 | 58 mi | 68 mi · 1 hr 35 min | 92 mi · 2 hr 05 min |
| Islamorada | 90–63 | 76 mi | 84 mi · 2 hr 01 min | — |
| Marathon | 63–40 | 111 mi | 117 mi · 2 hr 50 min | — |
| Key West | 4–0 | 159 mi | 165 mi · 4 hr 07 min | 189 mi · 4 hr 38 min |
Mile markers and the Miami distances come from the Keys’ official tourism site; the port columns are our route estimates to a point in each Key (OpenStreetMap routing, no traffic, no stops), so add time for both. Checked Sept 28, 2026
The Overseas Highway runs 113 miles from Key Largo to Key West across 42 bridges, and the mile markers count down from 127 just south of Florida City to 0 in Key West.
From the cruise port, those same expressways are the quick way out — the Keys’ own directions from Miami airport run LeJeune Road south to the Dolphin Expressway (S.R. 836) west, then Florida’s Turnpike south to U.S. 1.
Choose a length: a day, a night, or the full run
Key Largo and Islamorada, out and back
Roughly an hour and a half to Key Largo and two hours to Islamorada from the port with no traffic (our estimate), and Pennekamp charges $8 a vehicle plus 50¢ a person. You’re back in Miami for dinner — or for the ship on a late sailing, if you set off early.
One night in Islamorada or Marathon
Marathon is 111 miles from Miami by the Keys’ own count. Sleep there and Bahia Honda, $8 a car, is within reach the next morning, with no four-hour day to get back.
All the way to Key West, then fly
Drive down, leave the car at Key West airport and fly out — American is the only nonstop from MIA to Key West; there’s none from FLL. Eight rental companies have counters there.
The Keys first, the mainland last
Any of the above works if you sleep in Miami or Fort Lauderdale the night before the ship. On sail morning itself, Key Largo is as far as we’d push it, and only with a late check-in window.
What does the three-day run cost?
Set for two people and three days, one way from a downtown cruise desk to Key West airport. Every field takes your own figure.
The rental, line by line
These figures are ours, not a quote. We assumed a $45 base; on Sept 28, 2026 Discover Cars was advertising Miami and Fort Lauderdale airport cars “from $8” a day, and warning that US prices may leave out some taxes and surcharges. Overwrite the rate and add any drop charge — the airport-fee % is also an assumption of ours, since neither MIA nor FLL posts a figure for its rental charges. The state’s $2 daily rental surcharge and county sales tax (7% in Miami-Dade and Broward, 6.5% in Orange) follow Florida law and the DOR’s 2026 surtax table; fuel is priced at 30 mpg and $4.37, AAA’s Florida average on Sept 27, 2026; the shuttle and bus rows use each company’s published fare. Tolls are our sum from the port, about $4.30 on a transponder, and the default runs three days one way to Key West airport, drop charge not included.
Two people, three days, one way to Key West: about $187 for the car at our assumed rate, before any drop charge.
The Keys Shuttle is $350 for the pair of you.
The bus is under $50 — and it drops you at Key West airport, not at Key Largo’s reef or in Islamorada.
So the bus wins on price by a wide margin, and the car wins on everything between Florida City and Key West.
Key West airport has 8 counters and no posted drop fee
Eight companies rent at Key West airport (Hertz, Enterprise, National, Alamo, Budget, Avis, Thrifty and Dollar), and their hours differ: Enterprise 8 AM–10 PM, Hertz 8 AM–7 PM, Avis and Budget 8 AM–6 PM; Avis’s key drop is open 5:30 AM–11 PM.
Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz list no Key West office except the airport.
No company publishes a Miami-to-Key West one-way fee; Enterprise says drop charges vary by location and season and show when you book. Get the price both ways before you choose.
One way spares you the second 160 miles. The round trip spares the drop charge and lets you fly home from Miami, with far more flights to pick from.
Neither is the wrong answer — the quote settles it.
The tolls are small. The toll program isn’t.
From the port, our sum comes to about $4.30 with a transponder: three Dolphin Expressway gantries heading west, at 17th, 57th and 97th Avenues, $0.66 / $1.32 apiece on the Greater Miami Expressway Agency’s 2022 schedule, then the Turnpike Extension’s Bird Road and Homestead plazas at $1.16 / $1.45 each (effective April 21, 2026).
The Keys’ own directions list tolls only on the Turnpike and Card Sound Road, not on U.S. 1. The Turnpike Extension through Miami-Dade is all-electronic, no cash, from Florida City (Milepost 0) to the Broward line (Milepost 47).
Card Sound Road, the back way onto Key Largo, costs $2.13 by transponder and $3.18 by plate, cashless, per Monroe County.
Over a three- or five-day rental, the thing to watch is the toll program, not the tolls.
Enterprise, Alamo and National charge nothing on days you stay off toll roads, and their fee never tops $34.65 a rental. PlatePass All-Inclusive (the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty program) bills $14.99 for every rental day, tolls or not — up to $74.95 over five days, before a weekly cap we couldn’t confirm, for maybe $5 of tolls.
| Terms | Who bills it | Fee on a toll day | Most per rental | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National page | Enterprise, Alamo, National TollPass | $4.95, toll days only | $34.65 | Tolls billed at the higher of video, cash or undiscounted rate |
| Budget page | Avis or Budget e-Toll | $6.95, toll days only | $34.95 | Non-discounted tolls; e-Toll Unlimited is a different product, billed daily |
| PlatePass page | PlatePass All-Inclusive, sold by Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty | Every rental day: $14.99, tolls included | A weekly maximum, which we couldn’t confirm | Decline it but use a cashless toll anyway, and that’s $9.99 a toll day, plus tolls |
| 95 Express | Your own SunPass, E-ZPass, E-PASS or SunPass PRO | None | — | Add the rental plate and dates, remove them after; the one way into the 95 Express lanes |
Toll terms as each company posted them on Sept 27, 2026; they apply statewide. Checked Sept 27, 2026
Parking the car once you arrive
| Key West parking | Rate |
|---|---|
| City garage, 301 Grinnell St (Old Town) | $5 an hour, $40 a day, open 24 hours, overnight allowed |
| Ocean Key Resort | $50 a night valet, plus tax |
| The Marker | $44 a night, plus tax |
| Parrot Key | $30 a night valet, plus tax |
| The Perry, Stock Island | $29 a night |
The city’s garage page is undated — a travel site reported $6 an hour and about $48 a day in August 2026, so check when you arrive. Checked Sept 28, 2026
| State park | Entry |
|---|---|
| John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo | $8 a vehicle plus 50¢ a person |
| Bahia Honda State Park, Big Pine Key | $8 a vehicle |
From Florida State Parks’ own pages. Checked Sept 28, 2026
Hotel rates are from each hotel’s own site, and several Key West hotels also charge a daily resort fee.
In Key West itself the car mostly sits, because Old Town is compact — the city garage is the fallback if your hotel charges more.
Down there it’s a parking bill, not a convenience. Up the Keys, it’s the whole point.
Bus, shuttle or plane (no ferry)
| Way | Cost | The trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Keys Shuttle | $175 a person, MIA to Key West; $120 to Marathon and the Upper Keys | Airport pickups only, and it doesn’t say whether it’s shared or private |
| Bus (FlixBus / Greyhound) | From $23.98 a person, about 4½ hours, three a day | Leaves from MIA’s Intermodal Center and ends at Key West airport |
| Fly | American is the only MIA–Key West nonstop; none from FLL | You skip the drive, and every Key in between |
| Ferry | There’s no ferry from Miami. The Key West Express sails from Fort Myers Beach, about 3½ hours, $145 one way | Not an option from Miami at all |
Fares are each operator’s own; the airline list is Key West airport’s. Checked Sept 28, 2026
Drive the Keys if
- You have at least one full day before or after the ship
- Key Largo, Islamorada or Marathon appeal, not only Key West
- Two or more of you are splitting the car
- One long road at an easy pace sounds good
Leave the car if
- Your cruise already calls at Key West, and that was the whole wish
- You’d be driving back from Key West on sail morning
- You’re on your own and a $24 bus suits you
- A hurricane is anywhere near the forecast
If your ship already calls at Key West
Some Miami sailings already call at Key West — Margaritaville at Sea’s Beachcomber runs 4- to 7-night Key West itineraries from PortMiami. On one of those, Old Town is already a port day.
Rent for what the ship skips, then: Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon and the bridges between them.
A two-day loop to Marathon and back covers more of the Keys than a day in Key West ever will.
For the port day itself, see Key West as a cruise stop.
June 1 to November 30
The search that shows the drop charge
Search from the pickup you’ll use, whether that’s the downtown cruise desk, MIA or FLL — and set Key West as the drop-off for a one-way.
You’ll see any one-way charge on screen before paying.
- Pick-up: MIA, or a downtown cruise desk
- Drop-off: Key West airport, or back in Miami
- Drop charge folded into the total
- No-cost cancellation to 48 hrs before pickup
Keys questions from cruisers
How long is the drive from PortMiami to Key West?
By our route estimate, about 165 miles and just over four hours with no traffic. The Keys’ official site counts 159 miles from Miami to Key West, and stops and traffic add time to either figure.
Can I drive to the Florida Keys before my cruise?
You can, if your last night before sailing is on the mainland. There’s one road in and out of the Keys, and the Miami desks that shuttle you to the ship run their last pier shuttle at 1:30 PM.
Can I drop a rental car in Key West?
The airport is where you’d do it. Eight brands have counters there: Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Alamo, National, Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty. None publishes a Miami-to-Key West one-way fee, so get both prices, one-way and round trip, before booking.
Are there tolls on the way to the Florida Keys?
A few dollars on the expressways out of Miami and the Turnpike Extension — about $4.30 with a transponder from the port, by our sum. The Keys’ own directions list tolls only on the Turnpike and Card Sound Road, which is $2.13 by transponder.
Is there a ferry from Miami to Key West?
No. The Key West Express sails from Fort Myers Beach, about three and a half hours and $145 one way. From Miami, it’s a car, the bus, the Keys Shuttle or an American Airlines flight.
How much is parking in Key West?
The city’s Old Town garage at 301 Grinnell Street lists $5 an hour and $40 a day, with overnight parking allowed. Hotels charge from about $29 to $50 a night on their own sites.
More on renting around a PortMiami cruise
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